Alexander The Great Research Paper

During the span of the Classical and Hellenistic periods in Ancient Greece, many changes occurred that differentiated one from the other. There were many facets of society that were affected as a result from the Classical period leading to the Hellenistic period.

     The ancient Greek and Roman civilizations of Europe began to progress toward a more civilized order of society. As there were no previous establishment to base their ideals on, it was understandable that there were some difficulties in their progression as a society. Although the ancient Greek and Roman governments fell, both had similar paths of creation, conquest, and destruction.

     Alexander and his men now set forth to conquer Egypt. Upon arriving, he was welcomed as a “...divinely sent liberator from Persian rule'; and was crowned

In the fourth century BC, rapid cultural, economic, social, and political changes were occurring in the Mediterranean and Asia Minor as a result of the conquests of Alexander the Great. In 337 BC, Alexander the Third inherited the Macedonian kingdom after his father, Philip the Second, died. Philip the Second has already taken control over all of Greece, and Alexander used the manpower and money from this to expand even further, into Persia. Beginning in 334 BC, Alexander started an intense campaign through Persia, concurring city after city. Eventually, Alexander had conquered all of Persia and forced the Persian king Darius the third to the city of Ecbatana, where he was killed. Instead of returning to Greece after his victory over the Persian

     Mythology is a way that the ancient societies explained why things are the way they are and how they came to being. Two ancient societies are infamous for their mythology. These societies are Greece and Rome. Great authors were made be the mythological works they wrote. Homer was a famous author who is best known for his epics. It is from these epics that most of the gods and actual myths well known. I am writing of two of these gods in particular, Saturn and Dionsysus.

Cyrus II the Great is credited as the founder of the Achaemenid Empire. Cyrus II reigned from 558-530 B.C.E. Cyrus II took control of the weakened Assyrian and Babylonian empires through his powerful, strategic military. Under Cyrus II’s rule, the empire’s military expanded and conquered most of Asia and parts of Europe creating the largest empire in the world during this time period. Cyrus II led his kingdom by respecting the religions and customs of the people he conquered. Cyrus II was successful in molding a centralized administration and creating a stable, working government. His achievements involving military strategy, politics, and human rights impacted and influenced not only the Achaemenid Empire but both Western and Eastern Civilizations. Cyrus II fell wounded while protecting the northeastern border of his empire from raiders ending his reign.

The expanse of time that the term “Ancient Greece” defines is all the way from around 7,250 BCE when the first evidence of burial sites were discovered in Argolid, Greece, during the Mesolithic Period, to around the year 30 BCE when Cleopatra died in Alexandra, Egypt (1). That is the better part of 7,200 years. Trying to fit all of that information into five to seven pages would be nearly impossible. That is why I will be focusing on the Classical Era of Greece which spans from about 500 BCE to around 320 BCE. During this time in Greece there were many conflicts and wars, but there was also much growth in the cultural aspects of their society.

Greek and Roman culture, although similar, are very different and interesting. Since the Romans adopted culture from the Greeks, many traditions are the same. When the Romans conquered the Hellenistic cities, they became fascinated with the idea of a Greek style of doing things. All things Greek were now considered popular. This is how much of the Greek way of life made its way into the Roman society.

The Hellenistic civilization marked an important time in Greek culture. This was the period between 323 and 31 BC, at one point the Greek society changed from being withdrawn and localized to an aggressive multinational, unprotected, and eager culture that infused together southwest Asia and eastern Mediterranean. The Hellenistic world involved many different people but the Greeks’ thinking and way of life influenced most of the matters.1 Every aspect related to culture followed the beliefs of the Greeks and this led to the Greek language becoming established, as the official language of this area. The following arguments are centralized around

Alexander the Great had conquered the entire eastern Mediterranean, ancient Near East, and Palestine. At a young age of twenty, he won and held the devotion of the troops. A decade later he led Macedonian armies to victory. After Alexander's death, his empire was divided into three distinct powers. Ptolemy I, ruled the Egypt, Seleucus, controlled Syria and western Asia Minor to Mesopotamia. Then Antigonus, had governed Macedonia and parts of Greece.

History has witnessed the rise and fall of many powerful cities, starting with Ur and Babylon and continuing into present day with cities such as New York City. Two of these cities, ancient Athens and ancient Rome, stand out from other cities of their time due to their culture, politics, and influence, both on the world around them and on future civilizations. These strengths qualify them as world cities, and despite their eventual losses of power, their legacies live on.

Following the death of Alexander the Great, the empire that he had amassed from his military conquests, was divided among four of his generals (Tullock & McEntire, 2012). Ptolemy was the ruler of Egypt and was given the Palestine territory and Seleucus controlled the area of Syria (Tullock & McEntire, 2012). Throughout the next century, the Ptolemies controlled Palestine and a large influx of Jews settled in Egypt (Tullock & McEntire, 2012). With the establishment of a new ruler in Syria, Antiochus the Great, conflicts began between the Seleucid people and the Ptolemies of Egypt over the territory of Palestine (Tullock & McEntire, 2012). After a number of battles, Antiochus the Great became the ruler of Palestine (Tullock & McEntire, 2012).

For the next few years he would lay siege and conquer many cities and countries and gains control of a vast majority of Asia Minor and Egypt. After Alexander had conquered Babylon he set his sights on Persia. He took Susa, one of the capitals and Persepolis the ceremonial capital. Alexander had set his sights on taking Darius III and pursed him into Media then Parthia. In the year 330BC, Darius was taken prisoner by the Bactrian Satrap Bessus who had Darius stabbed as Alexander approached, He declared himself the new king under the name of Artaxerxes V. Alexander gave Darius a proper burial next to his Achaemenid ancestors and proclaims himself the rightful successor. Though Bessus proclaims himself as King of the Empire, he had no relations to anyone of the royal family, therefore it is generally accepted that the death of Darius the III marked the end of Achaemenid Empire. Much of the remaining Empire falls to Alexander or gains independence for themselves. Alexander succeeded in conquering the Achaemenid Empire because of his great tactical prowess on the battlefield making him and his army a formidable enemy for the generals of the Empire. He conquers many cities and state swiftly, many were willing to submit after seeing what they had done to other armies. In conquering the cities he began to merge Greek language, Greek Culture and Greek population with these conquered areas making the original culture of Persia decline.

Alexander the Great of Macedon died in 323 B.C.E., marking the beginnings of a great political transition both in the region of Palestine as well as the Macedonian Empire as a whole. While the nation of Israel experienced foreign dominance during the Persian period (538-322 B.C.E.), Alexander’s death brought a unique struggle for power in the region as his generals (the Diadochi) attempted to maintain control of the fragmented empire. Ptolemy I Soter, a Macedonian general who ruled in Egypt, defeated general Antigonus in 301 B.C.E, and as a result was given control of the region of Palestine at the agreement of the Diadochi. Nevertheless, conflict arose between Ptolemy I Soter and Seleucus I Nicator since the latter, a post-Alexander ruler of Syria, claimed the agreement between the Diadochi and Ptolemy regarding Palestine was void. A series of military conflicts were then waged over control of the Palestine region for the better part of a century, and yet the interior region was largely left unaffected, leaving Jerusalem to thrive both financially and politically under Ptolemaic rule.

During Philip's expedition against Byzantium in 340 BC, Alexander, then sixteen years old, was left in charge of Macedonia. He took the throne like he was already king. He subdued the rebellious Maedi, a Thracian tribe. He took their capital city and drove out its inhabitants. He created a colony of several nations in their region. He called the new city Alexandropolis.